It All Started With Magnets

.1.

I am an Ilthi, we had evolved and grew much like other species evolved and grew. Our technology had advanced and soon we were reaching out from our borders after we discovered propulsion technology. We wanted to reach for the stars, reach for others, find something out there.

And we did.

Another species, the K'gtar, is who we found first. An insectoid species just as advanced as us with the exception of reaching out to the stars as far as we did. We had called out into the void and just two planets over they were there. And then we found the Jyngt, a large almost stony species, then the Antwyn, a small species but tenacious and smart. Then came the Grog, a beastly species we had been terrified to encounter but learned they yearned for the stars just as much as we did. Then came the Hant and the Krent, two fairly similar species residing on the same planet. Their histories told of how the krent had thrown themselves into the stars as an asteroid bore down on their home planet. The hant welcomed them home and they lived together on a planet that was more inhospitable than I could imagine.

Each new contact had its growing pains to be sure. Cultural differences, biological needs, and other such things but for the most part it was peaceable. We formed a small partnership, and then a coalition, a Federation, and now our Galactic Union. Seven species, six planets, and a Union that felt stronger than anything we could imagine.

When us Ilthi first travelled the stars between us, we never imagined that throwing ourselves out into the black would result in the glory of our Galactic Union but it had. It didn't matter that it took months and months, sometimes years to reach them but it worked for us. We grew as a collective, sharing technology and advancements. It was comforting to realize that when we reached out there was someone out there to reach back.

After the hant and the krent we had flourished for nearly a thousand galactic years. Each planet housed a melting pot of species and each had their own council with Ambassadors from each species. I resided on Torin, the Grog homeworld as Ilthi ambassador on the council. I loved my job, it was a bit boring but I liked boring. It rarely changed and that was a good thing. After a thousand years our species settled together and conflict was rare but easily remedied.

I never thought that our small council on Torin would be smack in the middle of the very first contact in nearly a thousand years. Then again I never would have dreamed up the individual who landed on our space port in the middle of the day either.

It has been years and years and I doubt I will ever get used to humans.

~~~~~

It was a relatively small ship. It responded to no hails or communications. It was black, sleek, and the surface rippled with something that couldn't be named. We had visual of the ship but our scanners could pick up nothing. It moved nimbly around the other ships in the spaceport and that was the scene me and the other Ambassadors were watching from the station's view port along with so many other civilians.

We had been alerted to the strange vessel that responded to no pings, no comms, and no hails in the middle of a meeting discussing the meeting of Councils that was to take place in six months. It had shocked us all. Of course we had to come see it.

Gal'rug, the Grog Ambassador had been the most vocal about being leery and wary of the vessel. We had no idea if they were pirates or criminals or hostile and we needed to treat them as such for our own safety. I understood where he was coming from, out of all of our species the Grog was the most vicious. Neatly towering over everyone else, hulking bodies and green, grey, or brown skin that was usually covered in scars. They were a warring species that had channeled their blood thirsty urges into arena battles and sparring. If any of our species would have a good idea about what was dangerous, it would be them.